Los Angeles daily herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1884-1890, 1887-12-28
Could Mr.. Blaine he E,ec,edr

SO, anu II MT. AODkllIlE. the Mug
wumps and the Prohibjtionists de-
feated Mr.. Blaine before, what has he
done to conciliate these parties? The
Prohibition vote has doubled. and
none of that clss' will vote for Mr..
Blaine. Please tell us what chances
Mr.. Blaine has for an election.
ISL.
Los Angeles, December p, 1887.
In answer TO this, and under the
caption above, that journal thus dis
cusses the question:
A correspondent, whose brief note
we print in another column, asks the
question that we use as a caption TO
this article. Let ms CONFESS, 20 begin
with, that it is hard query e aUss
wer. But Sc it would r; =; 20 put with
reiere9ee TO tie chances of success Of
any ether candidate. The two great
parties in this country are nearly OF
the same voting strength under the
present electoral arrangement, which
excludes from the ballot box the most
of the bulk of the Republican vote OF
the South; and the third, or fourth,
or fifth parties--more or less interest
ing sideshows all-are improving in
organizing skill and are actively az
gressiye. With moderate protection
as opposed to radical free trade; and
that is the issue that Mr.. Cleveland
invites and that M. Blaine has ac-
copied; one who believes in the intel.
ligence and patriotism OF the masses
should hope that the Republicans
will carry the next national election,
with any good man as the candidate.
And il on that issue the public opin-
ion OF the country is even now stably
formed, why should not Mr.. Blaine,
the most intelligent and ready de-
fender of protection in the country,
be a candidate easy to elect We are
of opinion that, in present and prob
able circumstances, MIR. Blaine is
not only the most likely and the best
candidate, but the inevitable candi-
date. Those who doubt Mr. Blaine's
superior chances OF. an election may
take their own tin e, and earnest Re-
publicans will listen to them when
they are ready to speak ; in the mean
time, however, earnest Republicans
will surely be pardoned if they con-
.tinue to believe in and hope for the
nomination OF Mr.. Blaine.
Our correspondent. -. S. J. fears
that because Mr.. Cleveland beat Mr..
Blaine at the last election by small
plurality, the result would be the
same at another trial. That does not
necessarily follow; in fact, as acct
dents in politics, as elsewhere, do not
repeat themselves with the same cir
cumstanees and results, it is not at
great hazard that Mr.. Blaine's fr ends
predict that ne will be the beneficiary
and not the victim OF circumstances
Text year.
Whether anything has been done
to conciliate Mr.. Conkling or not, We
of course do not know. Many of that
powerful mans friends, who at the
last national election were hostile to
MIR. Blaine, have since returned to do
active work in the Republican party.
MIR. Conkling's own county, Oneida.
that gave Mr.. Cleveland a majority,
at the election q few weeks ago gave
the Republican ticket a large major
ity. So that, even should he remain
in an attitude hostile to his old rival,
his influence in politics is Oh the
wane.
1t can be safely said that nothing
has been done to placate the wrath OF
the Mugwumps. Neither Mr.. Blaine
nor his friends would ever think OF
doing SO unwise thing.
We 1u,1at decline for the pragpnt
to consider the problem OF the Prohi-
bition vote. Whether it will be larger
or smaller than it was three years ago
no man knoweth. The new tendency
on this question is to localize it, and
if this tendency becomes strong
enough, it will settle the temperance
question so far as to take it out of ma
tional politics. Let this happen as it
will, there is certain to be one ma
tional question, high, urgent and par
amount, that possibly may serve at
any rate to postpone the contention
for prohibition by united action over
the whole country.
That is not an uncandid statement
on the whole. But there is one I'M
candid statement in it which our
neighbor will not be candid enough
to correct. 1t is one we are watch
ing to find one Republican paper in
the Union honest enough to be right
on. The issue raised by the Presi
dents message Oh one side, and Mr..
Blaine's alleged interview on the other,
is not Free Trade VS.. Moderate Protec-
ton. 1t is Moderate Protection on
our side VS.. excessively unjust
Protection of some industries to
the detriment of others as i'm
portant, or more important, on
the Republican side. The mes
sage OF Mr., Cleveland is explicit or
this point. The utterances OF Mr..
Blaine are quite as pc the
other. The leaders Of the Republican
party follow Mr.. Blaine in opposing
any revision OF the present schedule
made on basis OF war wants, when
the seas we're swept with dragnet to
find one more commodity on which to
raise dollar of revenue. To stop
the accumulation OF the surplus is all
we ask. This is to be done by con-
servatiye modification OF the sched-
ule. The reductions are to
be made on the necessaries
Of life, and by this phrase we mean
meat, bread, fuel and clothing, not as
Mr.. Blaine now contends that tobacco
is necessary which with whisky he
has been want TO term "deleterious
Injuries"
As to Oneida county it went Re-
publican because Mr.. Conkling
allowed it go to 60. When Mr.. Blaine